On Wednesday 1st June, Sheffield City Council voted to ensure Community Wealth Building will play a central role in shaping the future local economy.
As the newly elected Labour and Co-operative Councillor for Crookes and Crosspool, Minesh used his maiden speech to propose Sheffield adopt a Community Wealth Building Charter, to retain more public spending in the local economy, and ensure the council prioritise small and local businesses over multinational corporations.
Community Wealth Building is a people-centred approach to developing our local economy. It reorganises economies to be fairer and more just, aiming to reduce wealth flowing out of our communities by helping local investments and assets deliver more and locally. It is a practical way to support the delivery of an economy in Sheffield centred on the ambitions of local people.
In his maiden speech, Cllr Parekh said that there ‘is a great need to rebuild our local economy, particularly following the covid-19 pandemic’, and that Community Wealth Building was a way to ‘fix the root causes’ of the current economic crisis.
He said that by ‘delivering a Community Wealth Building Charter, and enhancing our Ethical Procurement strategy, we can not only speed up our economic recovery, but do so in a way that works for local people, for our local economy, and for our planet.’
Councillor Fran Belbin, Labour & Co-operative Councillor for Firth Park ward, seconded Cllr Parekh’s amendment. She added:
“I’m delighted that Labour’s amendment on Community Wealth Building passed unanimously at full Council. Sheffield City Council already has ethical procurement policies that keep money circulating locally, but we now need to go further, working in partnership with our large institutions and businesses to benefit the wider Sheffield economy.
“Working together we can develop skills, jobs and business models that create more opportunities for the people of Sheffield.”
Cllr Parekh’s amendment was passed unanimously by the Council.
ENDS
For info, contact Minesh Parekh at [email protected]
Full speech text below:
Lord Mayor, I thank you for the opportunity to propose this amendment, and make my maiden speech to the Council while doing so.
There is a great need to rebuild our local economy, particularly following the covid-19 pandemic, which both shone a spotlight on—and exacerbated—inequality.
The original motion spoke to the Council’s projected overspend, and the difficult situation Local Authorities across the country have been in since the introduction of austerity—due to the fact that we’ve here faced a 50% budget cut in real terms since 2010.
But, after every crisis there is a window of opportunity to not just recover, but to fix the root causes of that crisis.
And, Lord Mayor, that’s what this amendment proposes.
Community wealth building is a strategy to intervene in and redirect wealth back into the local economy, to ensure that as much public spending as possible goes to local people and local businesses.
The amendment notes that, in the 12 months prior to the pandemic, we kept an extra £80 million pounds in the Sheffield economy because of our public procurement policies, by prioritising our local economy over multinational corporations.
And we can go so much further.
I’m sure I can safely say this Council is united in its commitment to tackling social inequality, to ensuring fair employment across the city, and in tackling the climate crisis.
Through a community wealth building approach we can reward local businesses, co-operatives, and social enterprises that are committed to economic justice, and reaching net zero.
As a proud Co-operator—committed to redistributing wealth and power—we should look to work with the South Yorkshire Ownership Hub, to support the development of new co-operatives, to encourage plural ownership in our local economy.
And, by delivering a Community Wealth Building Charter, and enhancing our Ethical Procurement strategy, we can not only speed up our economic recovery, but do so in a way that works for local people, for our local economy, and for our planet.
Therefore, Lord Mayor, I’m asking this Council to support this amendment, to enhance our commitment to social, economic, and climate justice.
